The University of Western Sydney is offering places to Year 12 students whose HSC preparations were disrupted by recent bushfires.

About 700 students from the Blue Mountains and Lithgow areas will be guaranteed places at the university, with those who lost their home eligible for an additional $2,000 scholarship.

UWS pro vice-chancellor Angelo Kourtis says about 45 current UWS students were affected by the fires and about half of those lost their homes.

He says that motivated the university to help high school students who were also affected.

"There are over 700 students currently sitting the HSC who live in the Blue Mountains and the Lithgow area, so it's quite a significant number," he said.

"The university was moved by the impact of the fires on our own staff and students, and we paused to think about how this might be affecting students who are currently doing the HSC."

The vice-chancellor says the news should reduce some of the stress felt by students as they sit their exams.

"The stress that students would be feeling around HSC time would have been amplified by this tragedy," he said.

"The impact on their preparations would have been severely compromised by the fires.

"Not only on them but also their families and the broader community."

Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill says the move shows the university is investing in the future of young people in the area.

"It's an investment in these young people; it's also a statement from the university that they see themselves as being part of the region and they're determined to stay on that journey with us," he said.

The University says the program will include courses on all UWS campuses including arts, nursing, business and teaching.

It says some specialist programs such as medicine, midwifery and music, require students to meet additional selection criteria.